Is Alleged Facebook Hack Threat by 'Anonymous' a Hoax?

It's a curious video. In it, the hacker collective "Anonymous" threatens to kill Facebook on November 5. That's enough to scare many, not only because so many people's lives are connected to the social networking site, but because it would be a major breach of a major site. But before you fret too much, an information security specialist  and others suggest the video may be a hoax.

As reported by Time:

"The news around #Anonymous to attack #Facebook on Nov 5 most probably is fake," tweeted Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, an information security specialist, adding, "pay attention to the strange Twitter name they used and links to websites with adverts."

Watch the YouTube video that made the announcement of this allegedly planned attack and says "that Facebook knows more about you than your own family."

Other sites like PC World also believe the video is a hoax due to its production compared to other Anonymous videos and the amount of time it took for the video to go viral under a new YouTube account (the video was posted to YouTube July 16):

First off, there's the video announcing the operation, embedded below, which sports the same logo and robotic voice as previous Anonymous video releases, but the production value overall is far lower than others from the group. It was posted on YouTube almost a month ago under a new account, "FacebookOP," and seems to have languished there without receiving much attention from the press or Anonymous' own promotional outlets until reports in German and Spanish-language media picked up the story this week and it quickly spread from there.

Gizmodo writers with sources inside Anonymous' IRC say members doubt the legitimacy of #OpFacebook. "#OPFacebook is not endorsed by Anonops at this time," stated one member.

@Anonops -- a Twitter account linked to the group -- confirmed those sentiments on Twitter with the following:

TO PRESS: MEDIAS OF THE WORLD... STOP LYING! #OpFacebookis just ANOTHER FAKE! WE DONT "KILL" THE MESSENGER. THAT'S NOT OUR STYLE #Anonymous

#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it.

We prefer to face the real power and not to face to the same medias that we use as tools. #OpFacebook #Anonymous

Anonymous is most recently responsible for broke into a Syrian Ministry of Defense Website and displayed a message of support to the Syrian people’s revolt against the rule of Bashar al-Asad, as reported by  The Blaze. It also attacked 70 law enforcement websites in the United States on August 6 and in July announced it had breached NATO security.